


Book- ■ ?) in?)U5i 






MPBELL SLEMP. 



Campbell Slemp 



(Late a Representative from Virginia) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Sixtieth Congress 
First Session 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

March 7, 1908 






Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON : : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : : l^W 



LIBRARY Of- C0NQ«efi8 

AIJQ3J19?2 

pOCUMiSNTS DIVISION 



M-niiiagUJXiiw 






TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 5 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Jones, of Virginia . 7 

Mr. Gaines, of West Virginia 14 

Mr. Flood, of Virginia 17 

Mr. Lassiter, of Virginia 21 

Mr Campbell, of Kansas : 22 

Mr. Lamb, of Virginia . .... 24 

Mr. Holliday, of Indiana 31 

Mr. Chaney, of Indiana. 34 

Proceedings in the Senate 39 



Death of Hon. Campbell Slemp 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 

Monday? December ^, 1907. 
Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaki-r, it is with the deepest 
regret that I announce the death of my colleague, the Hon. 
Campbell Slemp, which occurred very suddenly at his home in 
Big Stone Gap on the morning of October the 13th last. At 
some future time I shall ask the House to set apart a day when 
Members may be afforded the opportunity to pay tribute to 
his life, character, and public services. 

WednESD-AY, February 26, j^o8. 

Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. vSpeaker, I ask unanimous con- 
sent for the present consideration of the order which I send 
to the Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Ordered, That at the hour of j o'clock p. 111. on Saturday, March 7, 
legislative duties be suspended and eulogies on the life, character, and 
public services of the Hon. C.^^mpbell Slemp, late a Representative from 
\irginia, shall be in order. 

There was no objection to the consideration, and the order 

was agreed to. 

S.ATfRD.AY, March 7, igoS. 

The House met at 12 o'clock m. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry X. Couden, offered the following 
prayer : 

We thank Thee, our Father in heaven, for the beautiful cus- 
tom, long since established in the Congress of the United States, 
of memorializing those of its Members who pass from earth to 
the realms beyond and rest from their labors. "The righteous 

5 



6 Proceedings in the House 

shall be in everlasting remembrance and the memory of the 
just shall be blessed." It quickens the nobler aspirations of 
those who survive and emphasizes the virtues of those who have 
passed on. Bless the special service of the hour in memory of 
one who served faithfully and efficiently upon the floor of this 
House and left behind him a record worthy of an American 
statesman, who in war and in peace lived to his convictions, and 
died respected and beloved by all who knew him. 

Let the everlasting arms be about the bereaved familv to 
uphold and sustain them in their affliction and comfort them in 
the hope of a family reunion in the realms above where there 
shall be no more sorrow and no more tears, and Thine be the 
praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The SpE.\ker. The hour of 2 o'clock having arrived the Clerk 

will read the special order. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. Jones, of Virginia, liy unanimous consent, 
Ordered, That at the hour of 2 o'clock p. m., on Saturday, March 7th, 
legislative duties be suspended and eulogies on the life, character, and 
public services of the Hon. C.xmpbElu SlEmp, late a Representative from 
Virginia, shall be in order 

Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following 
resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the Hon. C.mwpbell SlEmp, late 
a Member of this House from the State of Virginia, and in pursuance of 
the order heretofore made, the business of the House be now suspended to 
enable his associates to pay fitting tribute to his high character and distin- 
guished services. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be, and he is hereby, instructed to send a copy 
of these resolutions to the family of the deceased 

The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Langley). The question is 
on agreeing to the resolutions. 

The question was taken and the resolutions were unanimously 
agreed to. 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia 

Mr. Speaker: It becomes our duty to pause for a brief iiio- 
ment amid the busy scenes and active legislative work of this 
House to pay fitting tribute to the life and character of a de- 
parted colleague. Nothing has impressed me so painfully during 
my somewhat extended ser\'ice in this body as the appalling 
frequency with which we are called upon to mourn the death of 
our Congressional associates, friends, and daily companions. 
Even before they had taken their seats, and entered upon the 
active duties of this Congress, two most distinguished and widely 
known Senators, each bearing a commission from the State of 
Alabama, passed serenely to their final rest, full of honors and 
of years. And scarcely had the grave closed over the mortal 
remains of another honored son of our beloved Southland, a 
distinguished Senator of the State of South Carolina, when, only 
three short days ago, the entire country was startled by the an- 
nouncement that Senator Redfield Proctor, of Vermont, long 
a conspicuous figure in the councils of the nation, had suddenly 
been summoned to that "undiscovered country from whose 
bourne no traveler returns." And although the visitations of 
death during this session have been less frequent in this Hall 
than in the other Chamber of Congress, two of its Members, 
George W. Smith, of Illinois, and Campbell SlEmp, of Virginia, 
have answered their last earthly roll call and passed into the 
great beyond. 



8 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slettip 

Of all the vStates of this Union none, within mv personal 
knowledge of the membership of Congress, has been so stricken 
by the hand of death as has Virginia. vSince the beginning of 
the first session of the Fifty-second Congress fourteen of those 
who at one time or another sen,'ed that State in Congress have 
laid down the honors conferred upon them, as well as the cares 
and burdens of this life, and gone the way which those of us 
who for the time being are left behind must sooner or later 
travel. 

Of these, Lee, who had been reelected, passed away before 
taking his seat in the Fifty-second Congress; but Barbour, Epes, 
Otey, Richard A. Wise, and Rixey died in the midst of their 
legislative duties and with the harness still on, whilst Edmonds, 
Meredith, Turner, Lawson, Walker, O'Ferrall, and George D. 
Wise lived to witness the termination of their Congressional 
careers and surrendered up their lives amid the peaceful scenes 
and quiet environments of their Virginia homes. 

Such has been the mortality in the comparativelv small dele- 
gation from the vState of \'irginia during the period in which I 
have, in part, had the honor to serve it here. The bare recital 
of stern realities so strikingly impressive as these can but serve 
to admonish the strongest and most heedless among us that life 
at best is beset by snares and full of uncertainties, and that 
"Death rides upon every passing breeze " 

On Sunday, October 13, 1907, Col. Campbell Slemp, late a 
Representative from the Ninth Virginia District, died at his 
home at Big Stone Gap. His death was very sudden and came 
as a distinct shock to his many friends throughout Virginia and 
elsewhere. 

My personal acquaintance with Colonel Slemp began with the 
opening of the Fifty-eighth Congress, although I had long known 
of him as prominent in the politics of my State. Our homes 



Address of Mr. Jories, of Virginia 9 

were separated by the extreme length of the State, a distance 
of more than 500 miles. For these reasons I have been obliged 
to rely to a very large extent upon those whose fortune it was 
to know him longer and more intimately for most of the facts 
connected with his long and somewhat eventful life, which I 
shall now briefly present. 

Colonel SlEmp's father, Sebastian Smith vSlemp, was one of 
the foremost men of his section and a striking figure in his com- 
munity. His mother, before her marriage, was Margaret Reasor, 
a member of one of the most prominent and well known families 
in southwestern Virginia. Lee County is that extreme south- 
west section of the State running like a wedge for a number of 
miles between the State of Kentucky on the north and that of 
Tennessee on the south. Mountains rich with coal and ore 
there alternate with fertile valleys. Although to-day this 
county is justly regarded as one of the richest and most pros- 
perous in the Commonwealth, conditions there were far different 
half a century ago. Then the railroads which now traverse 
every section of the county had not penetrated its fastnesses. 
Its inhabitants were cut off from the markets of the world, and 
the cattle for which that section of Virginia is now so widely 
famed were marketed in Baltimore, being driven manv miles 
across the ranges of the Allegheny Mountains and up the Shen- 
andoah Valley. Cattle raising and farming were the chief in- 
dustries, and naturally the utter lack of transportation facilities 
and the almost inaccessibility of markets were not conducive 
to the rapid development of material wealth What such 
environments and conditions did develop was something in- 
finitely better — a strong, hardy, self-reliant, and thoroughly 
independent manhood, and this doubtless largely accounts for 
the untiring energy, indomitable will, perfect self-reliance, and 
strong, practical common sense which in after life contributed 



lo Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

no little to the business successes and the political achieve- 
ments of Colonel SlEmp. 

The educational facilities of Lee County were very limited 
in those days, and so it was that his parents sent the subject 
of my remarks at an early age to Emory and Henry College, in 
Washington County, where most of the young men of that day 
and section were educated. Here young SlEmp applied himself 
assiduously to his studies; but the death of his father necessi- 
tated his return to his home three months before graduation. 
He was not permitted to remain there long, for t-he great con- 
flict between the States was rapidly approaching, and having 
decided to cast his fortunes with those of his native State, 
although scarcely of age, he proceeded to raise a company, 
which was soon thereafter mustered into the service of the 
State and of the Confederacy. Whilst guarding the mountain 
passes leading from Kentucky into Virginia, Captain SuEMp's 
command was opposed to that of Colonel Garfield, afterwards 
the martyr President of the United States. Later he served 
with his command in Kentucky. On his return to Virginia he 
organized the Sixty-fourth Virginia Regiment, of which he be- 
came the commanding officer, serving with it in southwestern 
Virginia, east Tennessee, and east Kentucky. Under General 
Marshall he participated in the raid through eastern Kentucky, 
and later he was ordered with his command to Chickamauga, 
but before his preparations had been completed the order was 
countermanded. His military services practically ended at Cum- 
berland Gap, where the entire command of General Frazier, of 
which his regiment formed a part, was surrendered to the 
Union forces. 

The war ended, Colonel SlEMP returned to his home in Lee 
County. He had married Miss Nancy Brittain Cawood, of 
Owsley County, Ky., in the year 1864, whilst serving in that 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia n 

State, and having arranged lo purchase the old Sknip home- 
stead, he resolutely set to work to earn a livelihood for himself 
and family and to lay the foundations for the handsome com- 
petencv which he later accumulated. There was still small op- 
port unit)- for the accumulation of wealth in that isolated section, 
but by perseverance and industry and the exercise of that in- 
telligence and fine business instinct which characterized his ^ 
entire career as a man of affairs, he soon won for himself a com- 
manding position in the industrial life of his section. 

In 1878 Colonel SlEmp was elected to the house of delegates 
of Mrginia, where he became an ardent advocate of the read- 
justment of the State's indebtedness, and where he numbered 
among his intimate friends such prominent leaders of that then 
popular movement as Gen. William Mahone, Senator H. H. 
Riddleberger, and Hon. John E. Massie. He was reelected to 
the house of delegates by a largely increased majority in 1880. 
Up to this time Colonel SlEmp was a Democrat in politics, but 
he subsequently, along with General Mahone and other promi- 
nent readjusters, became affiliated with the Republican party, 
to which political organization he ever afterwards gave his 
allegiance. 

In 1883 he was a candidate for the state senate, but was 
defeated by a small majority, since many of his old friends and 
supporters among the readjusters— that issue having been 
settled — returned to the Democratic fold. 

In 1890 he received the Republican nomination for lieutenant- 
governor on the unsuccessful ticket headed by General Mahone. 
The canvass which he made, however, brought him into state 
prominence, and thereafter he was frequently honored by his 
party, having more than once occupied the position M elector 
on its Presidential tickets. 

In 1902 he was elected a Representative in Congress from 
the Ninth Congressional District, and he was twice thereafter 



12 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

reelected by increased majorities, but in each of these three con- 
tests he was vigorously opposed, and only succeeded in winning 
the election after a bitterly contested campaign. It is safe, 
therefore, to affirm that the Ninth District has never witnessed 
harder fought political battles than the three from which Colonel 
Slemp emerged as victor. 

As the sole Representative of his party in Congress from 
\'irginia, he was selected by President Roosevelt as the Repub- 
lican referee for the entire State, and thus it was that his 
time became largely occupied in dispensing federal patronage. 
That he could under circumstances such as these give anv 
considerable attention to his official and public duties is reallv 
to be wondered at, and yet at least one of his committee assign- 
ments demanded of him constant application and untiring 
work. He laid no claims to the graces and gifts of oratory 
and he made no speeches in Congress, but he was a laborious 
worker, and his intensely practical mind and strong po 'ers of 
application enabled him to accomplish much in the way of 
legislation. 

It is no small tribute to Colonel SlEmp's tactfulness as a 
man and to his skill and ability as a political leader that his 
absolute supremacy was never seriously contested by his party 
associates and that his party leadership was universally recog- 
nized and generally accepted throughout the State of \'irginia, 
as well as in the district of which he was the actual Representa- 
tive in Congress. That, as the sole dispenser of great federal 
patronage in his State, he did not incite bitter opposition to 
his leadership in his party is also a high tribute to his political 

sagacitv and to his adroitness as a leader of men. 
« 

Colonel Slemp was preeminently a man of action. In busi- 
ness, as in politics, he was ever aggressive, and in both was 
exceptionally successful. It is said of him that he fought for 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia 13 

everything in life uliicli he obtained that was worlli the ha\ing, 
and that he owed the eminence which he attained in politics 
to constant effort and persistent warfare. 

For fortv years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church vSouth and a firm believer in its teachings, and, I am 
told, always a liberal contributor toward its support. 

That he was steadfast and loyal to his friends a«d unflinch- 
ingly firm in his convictions is the judgment of those who knew 
him well, and I can bear cheerful and willing testimony that 
in all his relations to his colleagues he was uniformly courteous 
and ever regardful of their feelings. His bearing toward them 
was both unostentatious and unassuming, and in his inter- 
course with his fellow-members he was at all times genial and 
open-hearted. Politically, he and I were very far apart, and 
as to most of the great public questions now before the country 
we differed widely and radically, but personally our relations 
were most cordial and friendly and therefore it is that I have 
availed myself of this opportunity to speak of his life and 
achievements and to pay an humble tribute of respect to his 
memory. 

To the keeping of those who loved him in life, and by whom 
his memorv will ever be cherished, has been surrendered the 
record of his long, earnest life — a life full of effort and achieve- 
ment. To them that record will ever remain a priceless inherit- 
ance and a sacred possession. 



14 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 



Address of Mr. Gaines, of West Virginia 

Mr. Speaker : Those men whose lives are spent in a struggle 
to advance the princijiles in which they beheve, against their 
own personal interests, at a sacrifice of their own comfort and 
with scant hope of success, must always command, not merely 
our respect, but our intense admiration. 

The difference in our ages precluded any very intimate 
acquaintance and association between Colonel vSlemi> and mv- 
self. My personal acquaintance with him was limited to the 
Fifty-eighth Congress and Fifty-ninth Congress, during which 
we were both Members of this House. It falls therefore more 
properly to others than to me to review his career minutelv. 
His entire history, however, was one of unselfish devotion to 
principle and indomitable determination to fight for his opin- 
ions, without regard to his interests. Taking first the companv 
of which he was captain, then the regiment of which he was 
colonel, into the service of the Confederacy, a ser\-ice which 
could appeal to no property interest of himself or of his moun- 
taineer neighbors who followed him, he gave, when scarce more 
than a boy, an example of his capacity for leadership and his 
devotion to what he, deemed to be right, characteristic not 
only of his life, but marking him unmistakably as a tvpe of 
his section. Emerging from the poverty in which the war left 
him, by the avocations of the school-teacher and farmer he 
again presents himself as typical of the class and section to 
which he belonged. No one less responsive to the demands of 
duty, no one less obedient to the dictates of conscience, no one 
less disposed to disregard his own interests, his own ease and 



Address o) Mr. Gaines, of West Virginia 15 

comfort at the call of conviction, could br any possibility ha\e 
lived such a life as his. 

Knowing something in a large way of his history, and having 
known manv men of his type in my own State, I was prepared 
to understand him perhaps better than most Members of this 
House. And so, not knowing him very well personally, I still 
took a- deep interest in his career, recognizing in him a con- 
spicuous tvpe of a section and a people whose history has not 
yet been written. 

Casting his lot as a young man with the Confederacy, on the 
side of the State against the great majority of his country, be- 
cause he deemed his duty to be that way, he allied himself 
during his mature years to that political party which did not 
meet with the concurrence of the majority of the people of his 
State. The proprieties and my disposition on such an occasion 
prevent mv saving anything partisan or poHtical in its nature. 
But our admiration for courage, for determination, for devotion 
to a cause without regard to success, compel equal admiration 
for the men possessing those qualities, whether they be Confed- 
erates at Appomattox or Republicans in the South. It is a part 
of his historv that when the troops of which his regiment was 
a part were to be surrendered he secured the permission of the 
general commanding to take his regiment and attempt their 
escape. Dividing what was left of his regiment into groups of 
seven, thev made their way along the mountain side from 
Cumberiand Gap to a place of safety, Colonel SlEmp and his im- 
mediate friends being the last to escape, and so were beyond 
the Union lines when the Confederate troops were surrendered. 
When the war was over, he and his regiment ceased to fight, 
but thev had not surrendered. 

The same spirit characterized him as a parly leader. From 
every standpoint of interest, business and social, such a political 



1 6 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

fight as he made was not easy. No man becomes or can become 
a leader in such a movement who consults either his fears or 
his love of ease. It is a leadership which belongs onlv to those 
men cast in such a mold that they can fight for their principles 
without reference to the result. Under such conditions those 
who count the cost either do not enter the controversv or enter 
it upon another side. There must have been many times during 
his long party leadership when Colonel Slemp longed for the 
greater ease he had known amidst the. failing fortunes of the 
Confederacy. 

But mere blind courage, however admirable, will not suffice 
for such leadership. Sound judgment, untiring energy, infinite 
patience, and tact are alike necessary. No man can accomplish 
anything in such a controversy unless he possesses also those 
qualities which inspire the highest personal devotion and friend- 
ship. Such devotion and friendship are found only bv those 
who in turn are true to their friends; and it is perhaps this 
trait of Colonel Slemp's character of which those who knew him 
will most frequently think as they recall his memory. And this 
conspicuous loyalty of friends and to friends is the onlv com- 
pensation for a life of such struggle at all commensurate with 
the labor required and the sacrifices entailed. The ardent de- 
votion of his followers was to Colonel Slemp, as death termi- 
nated his long fight for his principles, the chief recompense for 
his efforts in a cause in which leadership is at once a martvr- 
dom and a triumph. 



Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia 17 



Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia 

Mr. Speaker: Hon. Campbell Slemp was born in Lee 
County, Va., on December 2, 1839. 

He was educated in the common schools of Virginia of that 
dav and at the Emory and Henry College, where most of the 
young men of southwest Virginia completed their education at 
that period. 

With the hardv, virile, and independent spirit characteristic 
of mountain environment, and with the advantages of a some- 
what extensive academic training, the inference would be natu- 
ral that his career would be exceptional; and so it proved. 

He entered the Confederate army in 1861, when just of age, 
as captain, and was subsequently promoted to lieutenant-colonel 
and colonel. 

He was a Democrat until 1879, when the debt question split 
the party of the State. The issue was upon what was the just 
and equitable indebtedness of Virginia upon the debt contracted 
many years before the war for internal improvements. 

While there was room for honest differences of opinion as to 
the right and equities in the case, the controversy was a most 
unhappy one for \'irginia, especially so coming as it did at a 
period when the State was still crippled by the disasters and 
impoverishment of a long and devasting war and still agitated 
and unsettled by the dark problem of reconstruction. 

Gen. William Mahone, who was afterwards United States 
Senator, was the leader of the section of the Democratic party 
in favor of readjusting the debt, which section acquired the 
78131 — H. Doc. 1518,60-2 2 



i8 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

title of "Readjuster party." Colonel Slemp cast his fortunes 
with this party and was elected as its representative to the 
house of delegates in 1879, and again in 1881. In 1880 he sup- 
ported the Mahone- Hancock-English presidential ticket, and 
subsequently went with General Mahone into the Republican 
party, and in 1883 was the candidate of this party for the State 
senate, but was defeated. 

In 1889 he was nominated by the Republican party of the 
State for lieutenant-governor upon the ticket headed by Gen- 
eral Mahone for governor. This ticket was overwhelmingly 
defeated by the Democratic ticket led by Governor Philip W. 
McKinley. 

:Mr. Slemp vvas not again a candidate for an office until 1902, 
when he was nominated by the Republicans of the Ninth \'ir- 
ginia district for Congress and was elected. 

This district has from time to time been an uncertain and 
fluctuating political quantity — now Republican, now Demo- 
cratic. 

But in 1894 the powerful figure of Gen. James A. Walker, the 
last commander of the Stonewall Brigade, loomed up as the 
leader of the Republican party in the district. He was a man 
of commanding ability, of strong personality, of undaunted 
courage, and of overbearing will. In 1894 and 1896 he swept 
all opposition before him and carried the district by large 
majorities. 

In 1898 the Democrats nominated a man who was of force- 
ful and aggressive personality. His intellect was as strong, his 
will as imperious, and his courage as dauntless as were those of 
James A. Walker. The entire State watched the issue expect- 
antly, for it was known that it would be "Greek meets Greek" 
when James A. Walker and William F. Rhea tried conclusions 
upon the hustings. 



Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia 19 

It was the custom in \'irginia, in districts that were at all 
close, for the candidates of the respective parties to engage in 
joint discussions. Such discussions were arranged between Rhea 
and Walker. They proved to be intensely dramatic and inter- 
esting, and, at times, reached the danger point. The general 
opinion was that Rhea got the better of his opponent in these 
discussions, and he was elected, and again in 1900 he overthrew 
the same antagonist. 

In 1902 the Republicans nominated Colonel .Slemp. He con- 
ducted a still-hunt campaign against Congressman Rhea, and 
succeeded in defeating him by a majority of 218. The defeat 
of such a man as Rhea reveals, without the telling, the fact of 
Colonel SlEmp's popularity, influence, and power in his district. 
Colonel Slemp was reelected in 1904 over Hon. J. C. Wysor, 
one of the ablest lawyers and most brilliant orators in \'irginia, 
bv a majority of over 4,000; and was again elected in 1906, 
defeating ex-State Senator Robert P. Bruce, a splendid young 
Democrat, by a large majority. 

As a Member of this House he made many friends by his 
genial manners and his kindly sympathies. His career here 
was quiet and unobtrusive; yet it was signalized by such untir- 
ing industry and eminent good sense that it redounded not only 
to the benefit of his district, but to the aggrandizement of the 
Republican party in the entire State. 

Mr. Speaker, to the reflective mind there is an element of 
pathos in every life. However the candidate for earth's hon- 
ors and ambitions may gird himself with the panoply of prepa- 
ration, how eagerly soever he may stand expectant for the steed 
of opportunity, how exultantly soever he may vault into the 
saddle and ride in triumph to the coveted goal, yet in every case 
"does black care ride behind." 



20 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

This is the dispensation to universal humanity; and I can pay 
no higher tribute to this House than in recalling that its gener- 
ous and tender usage has always been to bury all memories of 
strife and contention in the grave of a colleague. We all look 
forward to this; and we shall not be disappointed. 

"There is no pocket in a shroud." There are no politics in 
the tomb. 

Those who have sat with us in this Chamber, and are gone 
from among men, we remember with chastened and kindlv 
hearts. 

And so of our departed colleague we all unite in saying, 
" Honor to his memory ; peace to his ashes. ' ' 



Address of Mr. Lassiler, of Virginia 21 



Address of Mr. Lassiter, of Virginia 

Mr. Speaker: I did not have the honor of serving in this 
House with our deceased colleague, nor did I have the privi- 
lege of the personal acquaintance of Colonel SlEmp. Our resi- 
dences have been in widely separated parts of the vState. Yet 
I can bear testimony that for many years his name echoed 
loudly in the Commonwealth and his activities have been 
notable in the recent history of Virginia. 

I shall leave to my colleagues and to his more intimate 
political associates a proper survey of his public services and 
personal merits. 

That he was a brave and masterful man is evident not only 
from his local achievements, but from the confidence reposed 
in him by the Federal Administration. 

In an hour like this, when the divine mystery of death over- 
shadows human ambition and shames the animosities of men, 
it is reassuring to those who love our country to recognize the 
high qualities of mind or heart which have always character- 
ized the representatives of the American people. 

The regard which I entertain for the son and successor of 
our late colleague, as well as the honor due to a gentleman who 
has borne the mandate of a Virginian constituency to represent 
its wishes in this Hall, impels me to say a word of personal 
sympathy to the living and respect to the memory of the dead. 



2 2 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 



Address of Mr. Campbell, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker: Colonel Slemp was one of almost 10,000 rep- 
resentative Americans who have given conspicuous service to 
their country in this House. His services here were not dis- 
tinguished upon the floor. He was not a debater, but one 
acquainted with the duties of a Member of this House well 
knows that much arduous work is done here that is not evidenced 
upon the floor. Colonel vSlemp was referee for all the political 
patronage of the State of Virginia. That of itself is a sufficient 
burden for the shoulders of any man, however great. That he 
did this work and did it well is evidenced by the fact that he 
was returned to this House one session after another for three 
consecutive terms, at a time when he had at his disposal all 
the Federal patronage within his State. In addition to all of 
this, Colonel SlEmp had the work of a Member of this bodv 
that is required in the Departments here, and evervone who 
has had service in this House knows how arduous that service 
is and how burdensome it sometimes becomes. A visit to two 
or three departments a day, keeping up the enormous corre- 
spondence that is necessary, requires a degree of industrv that 
is not required of men in the average walks of life. He was a 
man of patient industry and did his work faithfully and well. 
My acquaintance with Colonel SlEmp began in the work of one 
of the busiest committees in the House, that on the District of 
Columbia. The work there is similar to the work that is required 
of the common council of a city of the size of Washington. ]\Ir. 
Slemp was always at his post. He was wise as a counselor on 
civic affairs, always ready to devote himself to duty, and never 



Address of Mr. Campbell, of Kansas 23 

shrank from a single responsibility. He lived the life of a biisv 
man. He was born to a life of struggle and eontention. He 
endured the trials of war and reconstruction in his younger 
manhood. Virginia had problems after Appomattox. Colonel 
SlEmp took them up and assisted in adjusting them all. He 
met and was equal to every responsibility that rested upon 
him as a citizen. He did his duty as he saw it. No man can 
do more, and no higher tribute can be paid to a citizen of this 
country or to a Member of this House than to sav of him that 
he did his duty faithfully as he saw it. 

Colonel SlEmp has experimented with the problem of life and 
has solved the great mystery of death. He, like all the innu- 
merable multitude who have preceded him to the grave, was 
cheered with the hope of victory and depressed witli the fear 
of defeat; he was able to gratify a lofty ambition and win in 
many of life's notable conflicts, but when the great summons 
came he yielded, as all men must. To that summons no man 
can say nay. Life, with its hopes, with its fears, with its am- 
bitions, with its conquests, and its defeats, must end. 'Tis the 
fate of all. Every man, whatever his hopes, may look forward 
to the time when he, too, shall answer to the summons that calls 
to the grave. Position, place, and power are not a defense. 
Ambition, achievement, and responsibility are not a bar. 
From the cradle to the grave life is a conflict with death. The 
infant struggles for life in its beginning, and finds it a struggle 
throughout to the end, when the mystery of death solves the 
last problem of life — 

E'en silent night proclaims my smil imnmrtal; 
E'en silent night proclaims eternal day. 

In this hope death loses its sting and the grave its victorv. 



24 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 



Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginu 

Mr. Speaker: For the fifth time in twice as many years the 
Virginia Representatives in this House are called upon to pay 
tribute to the character and public ser\-ices of a deceased 
colleague. The death of one-half of their number in a decade 
suggests the old, old thought that '' in the midst of life we are 
in death." These deaths have come to the young and middle- 
aged as well as to the old. The)" are solemn and stern remind- 
ers that the youngest and strongest may be called awav at 
any hour, and that the oldest among us would do well to so 
carry ourselves in life that our goods and chattels may be 
packed and ready for the departure we must soon make. 

These frequent deaths remind us of a passage in one of 
Thackeray's letters. He was referring to a friend who had died, 
and he wrote : . 

He was ready, I suppose, and had his passport made out for his journey. 
Next comes our Httle turn to pack up and depart. To stay is well enough, 
l)ut shall we be very sorry to go? What more is there in life that we 
haven't tried i* What that we have tried is so very much worth repetition or 
endurance? I have just come from a beefsteak and potatoes and a bottle 
of claret, both e.xcellent of their kind, but we can part from them without 
a very severe pang, and note that we shall get no greater pleasures than 
these from this time till the end of our days. What is a greater pleasure? 
Gratified ambition? Accumulation of money? What? 

We ha\e the answer in a Latin tiiaxim; "Vanitas, vanita- 
tem;" or, from the theologian's standpoint — 

"Vanity uf vanities," saith the preacher; "all is vanity." 

Since we are called upon so frequently to contemplate death 
and know that we shall before long explore the "uncharted 
seas" ourselves, let us contemplate it as a state less mysterious 



Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 25 

and even more natural than life. The onlv thing we need fear 
about it is that it may catch us using Hfe nn\visel\ — with empty 
hands, and work all undone. 

The brave man learns as the soldier does to put the fear of 
his own death behind him, and if he think of death at all it will 
be at such times when the scythe has cut down some loved one 
or some honored friend and colleague, as is the case with us 
this hour. 

For himself there is no fear. No man can afford to waste 
his thoughts and time on death. The work we are put here to 
do demands our energies and powers. Just in proportion as 
we do this work faithfully will we be held in esteem by our 
fellows — our names recalled with pleasure and our memories 
revered by the generations that follow us. 

In the death of Campbell Slemp, Lee County, Va., has lost 
an honored and useful citizen, and the Ninth Virginia District 
a Representative who was honored by an election for three 
successive terms in Congress. 

He was a man of action and his life was one of achievement, as 
we may well infer from the period of his birth and the condition 
of southwest Virginia at that time. Lee County is that extreme 
southwest section of the Commonwealth of Virginia, running 
like a wedge for a number of miles between the State of Ken- 
tucky on the north and Tennessee on the south, in the youth of 
Slemp no railroads penetrated the mountains of Lee County. 
Stock were driven through the Allegheny Mountains or up the 
Shenandoah Valley to Baltimore. Goods were hauled long dis- 
tances to market over mountain roads. The people were poor, 
while great riches were hidden beneath the rugged mountains 
that look eternal. 

These very conditions, however, helped to produce strong and 
practical men who developed self-reliance and determination. 



26 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

These characteristics were obser\ed by those who were thrown 
with Colonel Slemp. After attending the schools in Lee County 
he was sent to Emory and Henry College, one of the oldest 
institutions of learning in southwest Virginia. It is said that at 
Emory and Henry he was not only a diligent student, but one of 
the most popular. Then, no doubt, developed those traits that 
made him a favorite with his fellows in civil and militarv life 
and giving him at the age of 2 1 a captaincy in the Confederate 
States of America. 

It is shown by the Confederate records that Campbell SlEmp 
entered the Confederate service September 16, 1861, at Camp 
Lane, Lee County, Va., as captain Company A, Pound Gap 
Battalion, afterwards known as Company A, Twentv-first Bat- 
talion Virginia Cavalry, Confederate States army. He was 
promoted to be lieutenant-colonel, same battalion, date not 
stated, and he was reported present with the organization on 
April 30, 1862. On November 24, 1862, the regiment was con- 
solidated with other Virginia troops to form the Sixty-fourth 
Virginia Infantry, Confederate States army, and he was ap- 
pointed colonel of the new regiment, to rank from December 
14, 1862. 

The Union sentiment north of Lee County was strong — that in 
East Tennessee was still stronger — yet the people of Lee County, 
for the most part, were loyal to their State and the Confederacy, 
and furnished their full quota of men to the Southern army. 

These men under SlE.mp were engaged at Pound Gap and were 
there opposed by Colonel (afterwards General) Garfield. Later 
this command was sent over into Kentucky, where it took part 
in many skirmishes with the Union forces. 

Returning to \'irginia. Colonel SlE-mp organized the Sixty- 
fourth Virginia Regiment, of which he became colonel, and with 
this regiment operated in \"irginia. East Tennessee, and eastern 



Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 27 

Kentucky. The services of his regiment practically ended at 
Cumberland Gap in 1865, where General Frazier and his com- 
mand was surrendered to the Union forces. The Union records 
of prisoners of war show that Colonel Slemp was paroled May 2, 
1865, at Cumberlatiil Gap, Tenn. 

In the death <of Colonel Si.emp another of the ex-Confederates 
of this House has fallen asleep. In the Fifty-fourth Congress 
there were thirty-two of these men here. To-dav we number 
seven. In the Southland they are falling more rapidlv than thev 
fell in battle, and on the other side, those bv whose deeds of valor 
we may well measure our chivalry and manhood are falling at the 
rate of 300 each month. 

The conflict in which the\' engaged will soon be only a memorv, 
while their sons will vie with each other in paying tril)ute to the 
heroism and valor of the men who wore the blue and the men who 
wore the gray. Monuments to each w'ill be built on the battle- 
fields w'here American valor won and lost. Faithful liistorians 
will record the facts free from the prejudices of the hour and can 
not fail to make mention that the one side was right under the 
strict construction of the Constitution and the other side right 
under the changed conditions of public sentiment in their respec- 
tive communities. The philosophical historian of the future will 
not fail to record the achievements in civil life of the men who 
returned from the armies to their homes — often to desolate 
homes, where there was more than one \-acant chair. 

On the Southern side it required more moral courage and 
strength of character to meet the stern duties and pressing 
responsibilities of life than it did to face the mortal jx-rils of (he 
battlefield. Heroes they were called in war. Greater heroes 
were these men in peace. For their sacrifices and toils in build- 
ing up their wasted fortunes; for their patience under the recon- 
struction laws; for their manly triumph over innumerable diffi- 



28 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

culties, due to burdensome taxation and constantly falling prices, 
the world will some day mete out to them full praise in story and 
song. 

The company and regiment that Colonel Slemp led in the 
engagements to which \\c have referred were among these men. 
They averaged perhaps 25 years of age when the curtain fell upon 
the tragic scene at Appomattox, and for the most of them at 
Cumberland Gap. Lee County had suffered greatly, though not 
so much as the counties that I have the honor to represent on this 
floor. These men, with their comrades, have made that county 
rich by their enterprise and their labors. Many of them, like 
Colonel Slemp, were men of intelligence and force of char- 
acter, and became, as he did, leading figures in the civil and 
business life of his section. 

In 1878 they elected him to the house of delegates of Virginia 
over several competitors. In 1889 he was nominated on his 
ticket for lieutenant-governor and made a thorough canvass of 
the State. He was often selected as chairman of district and 
state conventions and was elector in the Harrison and McKinley 
campaigns. 

The people of his district, who were better judges of his life 
and character than we, who were only thrown with him in the 
ordinary business of this House, bestowed on him their highest 
honors, and elected him over talented men like Wysor and 
Bruce and others. 

Southwest \'irginia is Republican for two reasons not well 
understood on this floor. The old-time Whigs inherited their 
opposition to Democracy. Even the most conservative of the 
Clay Whigs had to be graduated into the Democratic ranks 
through the name of "Conservative Democrats." 

A great number refused to take the degree. In 1878 a third 
partv, the Readjuster party, swept the State, producing bitter- 



Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 29 

ness of feeling and dividing the Democratic party- Us success 
was made possible through the negjo vote It soon ran its 
course, and when the flood subsided it left a few strong and 
many good men in the Republican party who had hitherto 
affiliated with the Democrats. Like many revolutions, it had its 
compensations. It taught some Democrats to conquer their 
prejudices, and it impressed nearly all with the stern necessity 
of holding to the "ancient landmarks." 

The members of the grand old party of southwest \'irginia 
can not be designated by their complexions altogether. A 
bright little girl of 7 years of age in my hotel from one of the 
Southern States, addressing a gentle and comely lady from New 
Jersey, said: "Are you a republic?" The lady replied: "Yes; I 
am what you call a republic." The cliild quickly replied: "Well, 
you are too good looking; you are liie best looking republic I 
ever saw." Had the little child been raised within the shadow 
of the mountains of southwest Mrginia or played along the banks 
of the limpid streams that flow on forever she would have met 
as many fair "republics" as ever watched from the Jersey 
coast the incoming time from old ocean's wave. 

Mr. Chairman, the laws of compensation come to most men 
as they journey through this bustling, active life that the pessi- 
mist describes as a "vale of tears." 

Men like Colonel Sle.mp, who had to be the architects of their 
own fortune and struggle heroically against adverse conditions, 
are often comforted, as he was, with children, who grew up 
around him with advantages and opportunities that were denied 
him. He looked upon these as beings of new hope and labored 
well to educate them. If from the spirit land we shall watch 
the scenes being enacted here, our deceased colleague behold 
with delight and gratification his seat filled by his otvn son. 
Man lives again in those to whom he has given being. Our 



30 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

mistakes only furnish beacon lights to warn them of clanger, 
while our little successes stimulate them to renewed efforts 
and serve as guideposts along life's journey. 

In paying this tribute to the memory of my deceased col- 
league, I express the earnest hope that happiness and con- 
tentment may attend those who immediately bind his memory 
to earth. 



Address of Mr. Holliday, of Indiana 31 



Address of Mr. Holliday, of Indiana 

Mr. Speaker: During the last few years of his Hfe I was well 
and intimately acquainted with Campbell SlEmp. During the 
Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses we boarded at the same 
hotel. We were about the same age. He had worn the gray 
while I was wearing the blue, and, like a great many other old 
men, we liked to get together and exchange reminiscences. 
We lived to some extent in the past, as is characteristic of men 
of our age. In that way our friendship became intimate and, 
like everybody else who knew him, I liked him well. His laugh 
was so genial, his smile was so contagious, his hearty hand grasp 
was so wholesome that it was a delight and joy to meet him. 
We never talked politics. We would most of our time talk 
about old times when we were boys, and we got a lot of pleasure 
out of it, and to-day I take a great deal of pleasure in remem- 
bering those things and the pleasure I got and the pleasure I 
gave to him during those conversations. When the war broke 
out between the two sections of the country Mr. SlEmp threw 
in his fortune with his State as against the great body of the 
nation. He fought her battles well and gallantly. He led 
men, as gallant soldiers as followed Alexander the Great during 
his career, and when the fortune of war had gone against him, 
when the flag he loved went down in defeat, he did not repine; 
he did not go whining about, complaining of his ill luck. He 
went to work, like thousands of other brave men who were with 
him, to build up the country that had been destroyed, to 
replace the waste places, and restore the grand old Common- 
wealth which he loved so well to her ancient prosperity. 



32 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

I am glad he did this, nut only he but thousands of others, 
and from that time onward he had the interest of his State 
as well as the interest of the United States closely at heart. 
There are men who will say that Campbell SlEmp was wrong 
when he cast his fortunes with the Confederacy; there are 
men who will say that he was wrong when he cast his political 
fortunes with the party to which he had been a long time 
opposed. We will not discuss that. That is not for us to say, 
but we who know him, know that his convictions were as 
strong as the eternal hills among which he dwelt, and either in 
peace or war, in the field of battle or in the field of politics, 
Campbell SlEmp followed his convictions, and that is enough 
for us to know. He had a stormy career undoubtedlv. He was 
situated so, and his environments were such that it must have 
been stormy; but after life's fitful fever he sleeps well, and his 
death admonishes those of us who are his contemporaries, if we 
need any admonition, that our time is coming within the near 
future. We have nothing to complain about ; we have done our 
part; we have tried to do it. I may say in passing, in speak- 
ing of his legislative career, although I was intimate with 
him, we did not talk very much about legislative matters, and 
I am inclined to think, to be fair about it, that he, like myself 
and a few others, entered the political arena too late in life 
to acquire distinction in the halls of legislation, but he did 
his duty. He was honest, upright, fair, always ready. No 
amount of trouble and no amount of worry could dim his good 
humor or bring a frown to his face. He has gone and they 
are fast going. 

Those men who played an important part during those 
troublous days are fast passing away. We think thev have done 
their share well, and it seems to me there is nothing grander in 
history than the action of the two great armies after the civil 



Address of Mi . HoUiday, of Indiana . 33 

war. I speak of this to-day because he was a splendid repre- 
sentative of one of those armies. The N'ortheni army — flushed 
with victory, some people thought they would establish a mili- 
tary dictatorship over this country — melted away into the ranks 
of peaceful life without causing a ripple. The >Southern army, 
while they told us, and 1 confess I had some fears, they would 
start a guerilla warfare, did nothing of the kind, but went to 
peaceful pursuits in life, and the country in a few years was 
as strong and vigorous as ever. 

Gentlemen, I regard that as really greater than the battles 
which these men fought, the battle of self-abnegation, the battle 
for better things and better conditions after the bloody conflict 
was over. 

Campbell SlEmp has passed away. We, his contemporaries, 
will not survive him very long, but we are glad to know that the 
world has grown since we have been in it. It is one of those 
things that gives pride to a man, who has climbed to the heights 
of life and is going down on the other side, to know that he 
will leave the world a little better than he found it. 1 feel 
that, and I am optimistic aboi t it. The men who, like Camp- 
HELL SlEmp, have set an example of duty to a cause, whether 
right or wrong, consecrated themselves and their lives to what 
they believed to be right, are among the country's noblest 
exemplars. 

78131— H. Doc. 1518, 60-2- — ,3 



Memorial Addresses; Campbell Slemp 



Address of Mr. Chaney, of Indiana 
Mr. Speaker : 

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; 

In feehngs, not in figures on a dial. 

We should count time by heart-throbs. He must lives 

Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. . _ 

Campbell Slemp was a Virginian by birth and life. In 1839 
his eyes first saw the hght. He honored the State which gave 
him birth, and for almost fourscore years, boy and man, he 
served well the "Old Dominion." I ser\'ed on no committee 
with him here. 

I knew him only since he came to Congress; and I fotmd hitn 
genial, sociable, and reliable. Endowed by nature with a happy 
turn of mind, he wore the cares of public office easify and 
agreeably. He was always at his best in answering a political 
question, deciding a post-office controversy, or proving to a 
constiluent why he failed to accomplish a task. Living only 
a limited distance from the National Capital, and being the 
only Republican Member from his State, everybody from Vir- 
ginia came to him for everything; and every morning from 7 
o'clock to noon, at the Ebbitt House, where we both lived, 
and in the lobbv of the House when Congress was in session, 
and again at the hotel up to the hour of retirement at night, 
the hearty laugh of Mr. SlEmp was heard. Everyone liked 
him, for he was everyone's friend. 

In the "great unpleasantness" he, with the ardor of a local 
pride and the inspiration of a controlling environment, ser\-ed 
the Confederate cause. As captain, lieutenant-colonel, and 



Address of Mr. Clianey, oj Indiana 35 

colonel he chivalrously wore the "gray" and valiantly battled 
for the avowed sovereignty of the Southern States. On a Con- 
federate tombstone in Georgia there is an inscription: "To the 
memory of those who died for a brave and simple faith." It 
was in this "brave and simple faith" he believed, and for this 
"brave and simple faith" he fought on to the end of that 
incomparable struggle. But when the swift, flashing blade had 
declared that there was no sovereignty but the Stars and 
Stripes, he doffed the habiliments of rebellion and held up his 
hand to the Lincoln interpretation of the Constitution, southern 
Democrat though he was. After that the prejudices of recon- 
struction did not concern him quite so much as fidelity to the 
Union, and with patriotic devotion he labored to rebuild the 
temple of absolute liberty "without the hope of fee or re- 
ward." To that purpose he brought every energy and every 
faculty. Not finding a ready enough acceptance of the "malice 
toward none and the charity for all" of the sainted President, 
and differing with his party on some important public ques- 
tions, he left the Democratic party in 1880, along with that 
splendid Virginia American, William Mahone. He soon en- 
rolled his name among those who believe that "one man's lib- 
erty ends where another's begins." He was not one of those 
to commit "the unpardonable sin.," and there was no unpar- 
donable sin, in his view, in anybody else. 

1 like the man who is too courteous and honorable to impugn 
the motives of his fellows, and I always believe in his good 
intentions, for he is generally too worthy to have any other 
kind. I would that every man could shake off the sad mis- 
takes of his life, that there might be no weight to his progress, 
so that he could the better run the swift race of success. I 
would that men could easily discriminate between the essen- 
tials and the nonessentials of life, tike imto the judge on the 



36 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

bench, between that which is evidence and that which is not 
evidence. 

There is more lost to Hfe and progress and civihzation and 
humanity through brooding over fancied wrongs, unwarranted 
inferences, and unprovable assumptions than there is by panics, 
and wars, and hurricanes, and accidents, and disasters. Fortu- 
nate is the man who can create within himself a liberal heart, 
a tolerant spirit, iin equity of conscience, and thereon build a 
character which commands unstinted acceptance~and liberal 
respect. 

There are three eternities, "faith, hope, and love." "Faith 
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not 
seen," and is a substantial element of human life. Hope opens 
the eyes wide, clasps the hands of friendship and confidently 
goes forth to conquer and to satisfy. Love is the charity of the 
human heart which binds together families, and friends, and 
states, and principalities, and powers. Campbell vSlEmp was 
endowed with a liberal heart, a tolerant spirit, an equity of 
conscience, and these three eternities possessed him body and 
soul, mind and strength. 

He was a typical American, born of her soil, baptized in her 
crystal waters, nurtured in her admonitions, inspired by her 
possibilities. He was a true citizen of the Republic, for he 
believed in doing unto others as he would that others should 
do unto him. Indeed, this was his religion. It is a scripture 
impossible of misinterpretation, and worthy of universal 
acknowledgment. 

Mr. SlE.mp was a man of earnest convictions, of uncompro- 
mising conscience, of honorable impulses. He was likewise 
affable, courteous, and generous hearted. He lived not ' to 
himself alone, but to contribute his share of the world's work 
and to assume his full portion of its responsibilities. His life 



Address of ^fl . Chancy, of Indiana 37 

was respectable, creditable, and successful. He died as he 
lived, in the open view and critical scrutiny of the best citizen- 
ship of Virginia, and with the approving conscience of his 
associates in Congress. He put off not until to-morrow what 
he could well do to-day. He si)oke the words, he did the 
things, he cheered the hearts, and he kept the faith of family 
and friends, of State and nation. His life was guided by the 

poet : 

We shall do so much in the years to come, 

But what have we done to-day? 
We shall give our gold in a princely sum, 

But what did we give to-day? 
We shall lift the heart and dry the tear; 
We shall plant a hope in the place of fear; 
W'e shall speak the words of love and cheer, 

But what did we speak to-day? 
W'e shall be so kind in the afterwhile, 

But what was the kindness to-day? 
We shall bring each lonely life a smile, ^ 

^ But what have we brought to-day? 

W'e shall give to truth a grander birth, 
And to steadfast faith a deeper worth; 
We shall feed the hungering souls of eartli, 

But whom have we fed to-day? 
We shall reap such joys in the by-and-by, 

But what have we sown to-day? 
We shall build us mansions in the sky, 

But what have we built to-day' 
'Tis sweet in idle dreams to bask. 
But here and now do we do our task? , 

Yes, this is the thing our souls must ask: 

What have we done to-dav' 



38 Memorial Addresses: Campbell Slemp 

Jlr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, as some of those who 
had indicated a desire to speak on this occasion are unavoid" 
ably absent, I ask unanimous consent that they may be per- 
mitted to print their remarks in the Record. 

The SpE.^ker pro tempore. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, as a further mark of 
respect to the memory of the deceased, I move that the House 
do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to. 

Accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 12 minutes ]i. m.) the House 
adjourned. 

o 



